Bridgend Town A.F.C. () was a Welsh

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club that played in the

Welsh Football League The Welsh Football League (also known as the Nathaniel Car Sales Welsh Football League for sponsorship reasons) was a club football league in Wales. For its final season in 2019–20 season it operated at levels 3 and 4 of the Welsh football leag ...

. Historically, their local rivals were Maesteg Park who disbanded in 2009. In 2013, they merged with local rivals Bryntirion Athletic to form Pen-y-Bont.

History

Bridgend Town were originally formed in the early 1920s playing in the Welsh section of the Southern League. Despite finishing 6th, 14th and 4th, the side disbanded. The club re-emerged in the 1960s playing in the Welsh League and were crowned Division 2 East champions in their first season. The club won the Welsh league in 1969 and did it again four years later, by that time the name of the club had changed to Everwarm FC due to the sponsorship from the local central heating company of the same name. In the 1976/1977 season Bridgend reached the semi-finals of the

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...

, losing to

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

. The following season Bridgend rejoined the Southern League and were promoted to the Southern Premier Division. In 1979/1980, Bridgend were crowned overall champions of the Southern League, having won the Midland Division of the Southern League, beating Dorchester Town 5–1 in the Championship play-off. Bridgend returned to the Welsh pyramid in 1983, where they finished runner-up in the National Division twice. After being relegated to the

Welsh League The Welsh League was the first club rugby league competition in Wales.Lush (1998), pg. 19 Its inaugural season was in 1908/09 when four additional teams were formed to join Ebbw Vale RLFC and Merthyr Tydfil RLFC, which allowed a league tournam ...

First Division and subsequently the Second Division, the club were eventually promoted back to the First Division in 2002/2003, where they have remained since. Bridgend Town vacated Coychurch Road in 2006 – their home for many years – to make way for associated works related to a new supermarket. They finished with a comprehensive 7–0 win over

Croesyceiliog Croesyceiliog (; ) is a suburb and community of Cwmbran, Torfaen, Wales. Housing Croesyceiliog is primarily a residential district and contains a wide variety of housing from Victorian terraces and even older Welsh cottages to property built ...

in their last fixture at the ground. In the 2008–09 season, the club reached the semi-final of the

, losing 2–1 in a tight game to Bangor City who went on to retain the cup.

Temporary grounds and return to Bridgend

Bridgend Town set up a temporary base at Tyn-y-Wern Fields, University of Glamorgan,

Treforest Treforest () is a village in the south-east of Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is situated in the Treforest electoral ward, along with the village of Glyntaff (or Glyn-Taf). It is part of the Pontypridd Town ...

, having also played at

Porthcawl Porthcawl () is a town and community in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales. It is located on the south coast, west of Cardiff and south-east of Swansea. Historically part of Glamorgan and situated on a low limestone headland on the South ...

since vacating Coychurch Road. The club returned to

Bridgend Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...

for the 2009–10 season, playing at the home of Bridgend Rugby, the Brewery Field. Bridgend Town are one of 24 clubs that have applied for a domestic club licence to compete in a 12-team

Welsh Premier League The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. It was found ...

for the 2010–11 season. The Brewery Field meets FAW Domestic Club Licensing requirements. In December 2008, local company HD Limited announced plans for a "sporting village" at

Island Farm Island Farm, also called Camp 198, was a prisoner of war camp on the outskirts of the town of Bridgend, South Wales. It hosted a number of Axis Powers, Axis prisoners, mainly German, and was the scene of the largest escape attempt by German POWs ...

, which includes a 15000-seater stadium, a 5000-capacity stadium for

Bridgend Ravens Bridgend Ravens () (formerly Bridgend RFC) are a semi-professional rugby union club based in Bridgend, South Wales. They currently play in Super Rygbi Cymru and are a feeder club to the Ospreys regional team. Origin Bridgend RFC first fo ...

and a 2000-capacity stadium for Bridgend Town. In September 2009, an outline application was lodged with

Bridgend County Borough Council Bridgend County Borough Council () is the governing body for Bridgend County Borough, one of the principal areas of Wales. History Bridgend County Borough and its council came into effect from 1 April 1996, following the '' Local Government (W ...

Merger

It was confirmed in 2013 that the club would merge with local rivals Bryntirion Athletic to form Pen-y-Bont given them access to £1,000,0000 of funding. The new club is based at Bryntirion Park and started life in

Division One from season 2013–14. The club's last match was against Pontardawe Town which ended 0–0.

Club honours

League

Southern Football League The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...

**Winners: 1979–80 *

Division One **Winners: 1968–69, 1972–1973 **''Runners-up:'' 1975–76 (as Everwarm); 1976–77, 1984–85, 1985–86 *

Division Two **Winners: 1996–97

Cups

**Semi finalists: 1976–77, 2008–09 * Welsh Football League Cup **Winners: 1987–88 **''Runners-up:'' 1998–99

References

{{Portal bar, Association football, Sports, Wales 1920 establishments in Wales 2013 disestablishments in Wales Defunct football clubs in Wales Southern Football League clubs Welsh Football League clubs Association football clubs established in 1920 Association football clubs disestablished in 2013 Football clubs in Bridgend County Borough Defunct Welsh football clubs in English leagues Bridgend